The Invincible, Untamable, Running Woman

No, not Sarah Palin. Me! Though I don't have any photographic proof just yet (and so instead inserted this photo of my fine man following his first marathon last year for inspiration), I have decided to begin running. Again. I tried to run back in college and post college years to keep in shape and, frankly, I hated it. I dreaded every minute of it. After ten years of watching Seth run, here's where I think I went wrong: uninspired landscapes, lack of training schedule, monotonous routes, skimpy mileage, lack of coaching, and no soundtrack. So this time around, Seth is helping me figure out running routes, how to start out easy and gradually increase to where I'm running enough miles that it hurts so good. It's amazing how having a 20 month old will motivate you to get out of the house solo (even at 6:30am) and feel like it's a privilege to watch the city wake up. Tomorrow I will do a greenway run which promises to be beautiful. I confess I only turned over this leaf two days ago. But I think it's going to stick.

My dad can't run any more, and what he wouldn't give to be out there running down the miles. I think when I feel tired and wimpy and want to quit, I'll remember my dad's love of running and catch a second wind. It's truly amazing what the body can do, and with the amount of stress I've been under this summer, why not be in better shape?

On another note, I want to offer a shout out to the sweet and generous Heather, who dropped by this afternoon with some freshly made empanadas (beef and eggplant) as well as some poppy bread. It's the big-little things like this that make this time less hard.

My dad started chemo yesterday. We spent the weekend together, and he had color in his cheeks, but a hard time moving the food through his system. Never before have I been so appreciative just to flick on a stupid movie and watch it together, or take a walk around the block. My mom insisted we clean out our car, which was just what I needed. These are the things that fall by the wayside until someone gets in my face with some cleaning supplies...and then she did most of it when Myles woke up from his nap. Thank you mom!

Myles is in the midst of some teething pain. He has two swollen lumps on the bottom, and two molars beginning to peek through on the top, along with a runny nose, a slight cough, and it's been hard for him to sleep. Ouch! Any mama advice on the issue very welcomed.

Seth will run the Blue Ridge Relay this weekend, and his brother Greg will arrive in town tomorrow to run it with him. Seth has the most difficult legs this year...each runner runs 3 legs, and Seth's make up a total of 24 miles. Eat, sleep, RUN! Go Seth!